Before You Take That Job Offer: Consider Graduate Employment Program

Don’t take any job offers before you read this

Are you currently in your final year of college and considering several job offers? If so, please spare 5 minutes of your time to read this article, as what I’m going to tell you might interest you.

Looking for a graduate job
photo credit: Ed Yourdon

A word on dead-end job

Have you ever known someone who works for years without any career progression and/or personal growth? I know I do.

Let’s just say her name is Stephanie (I had to use a made-up name for some obvious reasons.) Steph is someone I know for quite a long time. She is working in an educational institution as both a lecturer and an IT staff.

She is very talented, and I know that she has a lot more to offer to her workplace than her employer realises.

Unfortunately, her workplace doesn’t offer solid career progression. She ends up working for years with no promotion or career progression in sight. She finally quit and pursue other opportunities – and seem to stuck to the same situation.

It’s a total waste of talent, really. I’ve lost contact with her as she moved out of town – I wonder how she’s been today.

The moral of the story? This is yet another typical story of how talented people got stuck in their job for years. Perhaps the upper management doesn’t spot the talent; perhaps they don’t care about your talent.

You know you have a lot to offer. The problem is, how to let others know that you have what it takes? Quite frankly, working hard is great, but unless your employer acknowledges it, you have nowhere to go.

A pat on the shoulder is quite motivating at times, but you know you want more than that; you want growth; you want progress; you want to handle more responsibilities, and get rewarded for doing so.

There are many dead-end jobs out there. So, before you apply for more job openings or take any job offers, you might want to consider another option.

Enter graduate employment opportunities

Graduate employment opportunities are basically a training-slash-employment arrangement allowing you to do hands-on work while receiving regular on-the-job training and courses. It’s typically a paid position and your performance will be assessed by the management on a regular basis.

At the end of your employment/training, you will be assessed for your possibilities as full-time employee of the sponsoring company.

I personally view such program as the way to go if you want to grow professionally and individually. Not only you gain experience during the on-the-job training, you will also get mentoring from the management (if you choose the right company, that is!) Those are valuable and at the end of the program you end up with more skills and experience than most of your peers.

A graduate employment opportunity to recommend: Shell Graduate Programme

There are some coveted programs out there, but let’s take one I’m most familiar with, the Shell Graduate Programme.

Why Shell?

Shell (Royal Dutch Shell plc) is a multinational oil and gas company headquartered in the Netherlands. As an employer, they have received raving reviews from the business world.

Shell ranks #9 in LinkedIn’s The World’s Most inDemand Employers 2013 and #10 in Universum’s World’s Most Attractive Employers in Engineering sector.

According to Glassdoor, Shell is rated 3.8 out of 5 as an employer, and 82 percent of employees say that they will recommend the company to others. With regard to vote of confidence, Shell CEO Peter Voser gets 90 percent approval rating.

The majority of the reviewers think that Shell offers a good work-life balance, opportunities to work overseas, great corporate value and a great working environment.

About Shell Graduate Programme

Shell values drive, enthusiasm, resilience, confidence and the ability to build positive relationship and communication. So if you have what it takes, you are most welcomed to apply.

The programs will take 2 to 5 years to complete, depending on your progress during your enrollment period.

You will receive tailor-made development plan that will support your growth, plenty of hands-on role and assignments that will challenge you since day one, and training courses, as well as learning modules.

Not only engineering roles, there are also other roles you can assume during the program: Business development, environmental analyst, marketing, and many other positions.

Takeaway

A mistake people regularly do when taking a job offer is to think that high remuneration is all they need in a job.

Career is a journey, and during the journey the more well-equipped one will find more opportunities. Career progression, professional development and job satisfaction are some of ‘allegedly’ more important factors than remuneration. You just don’t want to stuck yourself to a dead end job.

The best place to get them all is by taking a graduate employment program like Shell’s Graduate Programmes.

You can learn more about the program here: http://www.shell.com/global/aboutshell/careers/students-and-graduates.html